It was raining for two days. The weather was not so bearable for fifty-seven-year old Lalmeher Begum of Southkhali who is an asthmatic patient. On the first day, all stuffs she had in her torn tent got soaked. The next day the floor submerged.

The country has no alternative to using science education as a tool for improving the living standards of the people and for dealing with the economic and environmental challenges it faces, experts said.

Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury yesterday made an unequivocal and firm resolve regarding the question of transit to India, saying the foreign ministry will never agree to any arrangement which is contrary to Bangladesh's sovereign national interest.

Vested interests using the banner of the liberation war are plotting to create a civil war-like situation at a time when people are waiting for transition to democracy through a general election, Awami League leader Amir Hossain Amu yesterday said.

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday reiterated the demand for immediate release of party chairperson Khaleda Zia to make way for joining the dialogue with the government and the general election.

Prices of spices increased throughout the week in the capital after the government had raised fuel prices while various edible oils were still selling at higher prices despite a lower rate fixed by the government three days earlier.

In the rural outskirts of Baghdad, where the war seems distant in Iraq's new period of relative calm, a prominent Sunni tribal chief makes no bones about what is lacking in the drive to turn security improvements into lasting economic and political reform.

Editorial

POLICE stations in the nation's capital have drastically cut down the number of cases pending investigation to one-ninth of what they used to be. In the year and a half gone by, cases have declined from a staggering 35,000 to a mere 4,164. Now that surely looks like progress, brought about of course not through a disposal of cases but by a reduction in the workload relating to investigations. And if indeed the number of cases pending investigation have come down to that level in accordance with standard procedure, the police department deserves to be congratulated. We expect that this kind of performance, based on a proper screening of cases in future, will eventually turn out to be a permanent feature of police administration.

AS far as population growth is concerned, Bangladesh is not on the right track. The country with a land area of only about 55 thousand square miles is home to nearly 15 crore people. And to refresh our memory, Bangladesh's population was 7.5 crore in 1971. According to standards set by the developed countries, especially those in the west, we are one of the most populous countries in the world. If we take into account the availability of agriculture land, sweet water sources, cattle-head, forests and other natural resources, it will be extremely difficult to accommodate and feed the population if it continues to grow at such a pace, that is doubling in 30 plus years.

ENERGY is an integral input to modern life. The lack of it could also thwart thumping victories with equal force. The energy crisis all over the world has already demonstrated it. In fact, per capita consumption of energy level would go to explain the level of development of a country.

THE recent events in South Asia are disturbing. At a time when the Saarc nations are preparing to hold their next summit shortly and the environment ministers of the Saarc member nations just had their meeting at Dhaka in which critical issues of adverse effects of climate change and the need for ensuring food security were discussed, the terrorist attack on the Indian embassy at Kabul followed by Afghan official accusation that Pakistan intelligence agency ISI was involved in the carnage that took the lives of some Indian diplomats and injured many Afghans waiting at the embassy for visa to visit India does not augur well for cementing the bonds of cooperation in the regional organisation.

THERE were no heated arguments, no throwing up of papers, no walk-out. The Congress tricked the Left parties and held no final meeting of the co-ordination committee. It was here that the ruling Congress was to inform the Left whether it was going ahead with the nuclear deal with the US or not. They were also to be shown the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas, who played a key role in Spain's Euro 2008 victory, should win the Ballon d'Or award as the world footballer of the year, Spanish legend Emilio Butragueno said Friday.

Spanish public television, a network of local television channels and the media group Mediapro have won the rights to broadcast the European Champions League from 2009 to 2012, UEFA announced on Friday.

Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has hailed National Rugby League's decision to ban a fan, who hurled racist abuse against Penrinth's captain Petero Civoniceva, saying it was satisfying to see someone being penalised for wrongdoing.

Business

The country's oldest private carrier GMG Airlines, which earlier this year eyed an ambitious Tk 1350 crore turnover, is in deep trouble to operate international operations as it has already suspended flights to four out of six destinations due mainly to plane shortage.

Importers had to bear around Tk 5.50 crore demurrage in the last two days in Chittagong following a strike enforced by the workers of lighter vessels since Thursday night demanding their pay hike, the importers claimed.

Of the numerous innuendos hurled at us, and thanks to TIB, we are labeled as one of the most corrupt on this earth. So how do you brave this affront and say that you want to do business in an ethical way in Bangladesh? The good news is that we have our own resilient businessmen who have made the impossible, possible. Locking horns against the wind to ensure an ethical business, we have one such stellar, one thousand crore taka performing group, Rahimafrooz.

Speakers at a press conference yesterday called for holding an election of the Jatiya Andha Sangstha (national association for the blind) to save the organisation and stop misappropriation of its huge fund.

Pabna district unit command of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad at a protest meeting yesterday demanded punishment of 'Muktijoddha Parishad' leaders for their derogatory comments about the principals of Liberation War.

Setting up of the much awaited special economic zone in Sylhet is the need of hour to woo Bangladeshis living abroad to contribute to the national economy, speakers at a seminar in Sylhet said yesterday.

Sirajganj District Awami League (AL) observed a token hunger strike at its office here yesterday demanding unconditional release and better treatment of party central leader and former home minister Mohammad Nasim.

Jhenidah police arrested an outlaw cadre on Friday night . According to his confessional statement they recovered a shutter gun, two bullets and a fresh bomb from his house at Bazar Gopalpur village in Jhenidah Sadar.

Letters

Before our Liberation War in 1971, the population of Bangladesh was 60 million as opposed to the present figure of 150 million. It is pathetic and frustrating to discover that within less than 40 years we managed to increase our population by 150 percent, while retaining the position as one of the least developed countries with a poor literacy rate. Did we, as citizens, think about the consequences of this population boom? The present scarcity of food, road space, educational and medical resources and the rising unemployment leading to degradation of law and order situation is caused by the population boom.

With a heavy heart, I would like to pay the highest tribute to the top commander of the joint Bangladesh and Indian forces of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, Field Marshal (then General and Indian army chief) Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (1914 - 2008) and all his brave 'boys' (and also the Bangladesh and Indian Navy and Air personnel of '71) for swiftly defeating the organised evil of the Pakistan army in Bangladesh. They acted under the wise leadership of premiers Indira Gandhi (India) and Tajuddin Ahmed (Bangladesh) in a hostile international situation. Shrewd war planning and its execution by Manekshaw's team saved millions of innocent lives from the hands of the Pakistani troops.

Water logging is a common sight in Dhaka city in the rainy season. And no effective and sustainable measures are ever adopted to prevent it. The situation has become critical. Dhaka is surrounded by various rivers but there is no way to discharge water through the drainage system into the rivers.

With a deep sense of helplessness and regret, we observe and undergo, on a regular basis, the perils of commuting. Take the bus fare and the new system introduced for the commuters' convenience, for example, in Chittagong. There are as many as four to five bus routes here, but the number of buses operating appears to be extremely inadequate. As a result, along with the new arrangement for buying tickets, passengers have to undergo some unprecedented trouble: a passenger on the route 10, for example, has two or three different bus services available.

A letter from a very distinguished professor in your daily's letter page suggesting use of indigenous knowledge to resolve local problems has drawn my attention and encouraged me to write this letter. I appreciate his suggestions and would like to add my suggestions to be evaluated by the authorities for implementation to resolve the problem of water logging and water shortage in Dhaka city.

My twin sister and me were going home after attending one of the monotonous classes. Waving goodbye to my classmates, I started my journey home with my dear sister when suddenly something unusual caught my attention. A well-dressed boy was sitting all alone in the footpath holding a packet of white powder. I did not pay much heed to it first, but then the boy took some in his hand, smelled it and then gulped a whole mouthful of it. That's pretty weird because I had never seen such food before, neither did I saw any advertisement of such peculiar food. Out of curiosity, I walked a few steps towards him. GOD BLESS MY SOUL! I MUST BE DREAMING. THAT IS DRUG. He was having it in broad daylight in a public place not bothering to maintain privacy. I was stunned. People walked past him, acting as if he did not exist. I was helpless too. Taking ALLAH'S name I started walking. In the course of my journey, I cursed myself for believing that my country was one of the least developing countries. I was under a deep illusion. Being a spectator of this incident I can surely say without any hesitation that my country BANGLADESH is not only developed but well ahead of others….

This is a reply to Mr. Aminul Hoque's letter --"Where are those billboards?" (in response to Mr. Zakaria's letter). I am a Muslim and I have always made sure that people from other religions never feel uncomfortable in anyway because of the way I talk about myself. In fact if I am not mistaken that is one of the virtues of Islam - giving everyone their democratic right and space.

“Road shows” may bring better opportunities for some of our policymakers and administrators for showing their success in the last 19 months. And it may raise the awareness of the people against corruption.

Price hike is a common word these days. It is not a problem for the people in the top echelon of society. But it is putting the people of low and limited income groups in distress. I am a student and I know how difficult it is to survive.

We are quite aware about the chaotic situation in our inter-district communications system. Every year a lot of money is being expended from our national budget for road construction and maintenance. But have we seen any remarkable initiative to ease or lessen traffic congestion ? To mitigate the problem we should use alternate waterways, as we have a very good waterways system throughout the country.

During the rule of Shaesta Khan, Subedar of Bengal (1664-1688), one could purchase 8 maunds (about 300 kilos) of rice at a cost of Tk 1 only, I repeat Tk 1 one only. While commenting on the present market price of rice and other essential commodities which have gone all time high and far beyond the buying capacity of common people, our finance adviser Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam has reminded us that this is not the age of Khans. You better not ask for a better price than what you are enjoying (?) now, Tk 40 a kilo to be specific!

Every year in the rainy season the roads become death traps. Not even a single road is good for transportation. It is really sad to learn that these roads were made of poor bricks and other substandard construction materials. That's why the streets are easily damaged by rain. We know that every year the government spends a lot of money for road repairing and construction but it is an irony that we don't see any improvement.

Now, the government seems to be slightly reluctant about improving the law and order situation. We general people are experiencing incidents like hijacking in the busy roads of the city. The so-called “Molom party” and “Ogyan party” are coming into the scene again. The marked criminals are just waiting for the favourable time to start their activities. We don't know why our news media is silent on the incidents happening in the city every day.

We all know that the train is a cheap and safe mode of transport, or mode of mass communication. But today we can call it cheap, but cannot say that it's safe. A few months ago, I travelled on Intercity Ekota Express and Nil Sagor Express to Dinajpur and Syedpur respectively. But these days I fear to travel on train because of frequent accidents.

The letter published on July 6 entitled "stray dog" has caught my attention. I would like to convey my thanks to Mr. Hasib for his effort towards saving a stray dog which is generally an unwanted object!

Your frontpage exposure (July:7) of Jamaat's murky deeds is an eye opener; something beyond belief! They steal from the poor, not taking bribes from the rich as the politicos from the AL and the BNP do. It is beyond imagination that they could cheat over five lakh poor farmers over a number of years! This is a new format of micro-stealing patented by the leadership of Jamaat!

Pakistan will not allow itself to be staging ground for any terrorist attacks, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Friday amid reports foreign fighters were heading to the country to join al-Qaeda militants.

Maoist chief Prachanda has rejected the claim of Nepali Congress and CPN-UML on the post of the republic's first President saying it should go to someone from the civil society, further deepening the deadlock over formation of a new government.

Seeking an "out of the box" settlement to the Kashmir issue with India, Pakistan has said the two countries need to go beyond the confidence-building measures and engage in serious dialogue to address the "real issues."

The Left seems to be divided on the question of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and also on whether it should be seen as the one responsible for bring down the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government.

China and Russia on Friday vetoed targeted UN sanctions on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe over his disputed re-election, prompting an angry reaction from the United States, which cast doubt on Moscow's reliability as a G8 partner.

Two days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an affidavit against her in a disproportionate assets case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday came down heavily on the Congress and arch rival Samajwadi Party and alleged they were influencing the working of the premier investigating agency.

Eastern Sumatra, the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar and Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake are among areas in Southeast Asia facing a high risk of arsenic contamination in the water, according to a study published on Friday.

Arts & Entertainment

Sohrab Hossain would always be remembered as one of the artistes who upheld and popularised Nazrul Sangeet in the post-Partition East Bengal. Credited for supreme renditions of Nazrul's creations, the singer-exponent also trained a generation of talented artistes. Citibank NA Bangladesh honoured this octogenarian artiste as part of their annual "Gunijon Sangbardhana" programme on July 11 at the Radisson Water Garden Hotel.

With rich content and context, day six of Aromatic Gold Dhaka Fashion Week 2008 drew its curtain with high extolment from the audience. Tootli Rahman's ensembles displayed thematic segments of saris with models clad in softer shades of lilac, lime green, black and white. The queue created a spellbinding effect with muslin, tissue, silk and satin saris bordered with silver shimmers and glittery sparkles, matched with fashionable stilettos.

At a discussion on the life and works of Safiuddin Ahmed, held at Bengal Gallery on July 11, Rafiqun Nabi said that Safiuddin is the most senior artist in Bangladesh and that he has had tremendous influence on the artists who came after him. "He has had more time to study life around him than any other artist of our time. He not only drew and painted but also looked deep into his surroundings, beginning from the British period, to the days of Pakistani rule up till now. He not only touched on romanticism but the reality that was a part of his surrounding -- he touched political and social realities after '71, as much as anything else," he said.

There are many so-called "elites" in the society who forget their ordinary roots, when climbing the social ladder. This tendency has been criticised in Shubachan Natya Sangsad's musical comedy titled Khandani Kissa.

Commemorating Tagore's introduction to the European literary scene in the early twentieth century as a major poet of the then British India, Tagore Society, Bangladesh for the second time organised the International Tagore Poetry Recitation Day at the Goethe Institut's Dhanmondi auditorium recently. This year's programme was organised in collaboration with Meghdut, Goethe Institut, Bangladesh and Bangladesh Cultural Forum, according to a press release.

Salman Rushdie's epoch-making novel Midnight's Children is the best-ever winner of the Man Booker prize, according to a public vote. Rushdie ran away with the award, created to celebrate the prize's 40th birthday, with 36 percent of readers, out of nearly 8,000, selecting Midnight's Children from a shortlist of six. The work -- the fantastical tale of Saleem Sinai, born at the stroke of midnight precisely at the moment India gained independence -- won the Booker in 1981. It also won the "Booker of Bookers" in 1993 -- another special award commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of the prize.

OP-ED

RECENTLY, Transparency International Bangladesh released its National Household Survey 2007 on Corruption in Bangladesh (henceforth referred to as the TIB report). As always, the report has been widely publicised and taken very seriously by different quarters, including the government.

KAZI Abul Hashem had embraced a natural death but in an unnatural manner. He died without getting any medical care at a hospital, which is one of the premier and largest public hospitals in Bangladesh. Every human being is mortal but everybody wants to see that he or she gets proper medical care and treatment before his departure from this world.

AS an emerging economic power, India finds that its companies expand into remote territories well in advance of its diplomats or other government agencies. Distant places like the Caribbean are fast becoming a major destination for business and major investments from India, and the competition that pits India against its giant northern neighbour China, too, has spread to the islands. Despite China's growing diplomatic clout, the private nature of India's business expansion may give it an edge.